Thursday, February 11, 2016

First-World Gansey

Old Man Winter certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve (or wherever he keeps them) because it's colder than a witches you-know-what out there. I have been checking the windows and there is no condensation or water on the sills, so I guess that was money well spent.

I am up early as Mr. Clawed was whirring in my face. Not exactly a meow, but a sound he makes in his throat. He even wakes himself up doing it, and usually I find it cute and charming. FC discovered a cache of mousies under the tv room sofa, and Howard was doing his war cry with one in his mouth in the pitch dark. I was looking for my 5th DPN under there, which was behind my ear. We also found a Glossette raisin.

My Whitby Gansey is done. This is a proud moment in a knitters life. The last (and only) other gansey I have completed, Eriskay, was done in 1999, according to my Ravelry notebook. It was, and is, a completely patterned and challenging project as the chest pattern is all different and a bit of a pain to keep track of. Also done on 3mm needles, in Navy.

In comparison, this one was a walk in the park. The pattern was easy to memorize and I really enjoyed working with the yarn, although I will say that in comparison, I prefer the Frangipani over the Wendy Guernsey, as there were knots and quite a bit of chaff in it. Odd. But the Atlantic blue is a nice colour and I used 8 balls, so just shy of 2000 yds.

The shoulder detail: I cast off the shoulders on the right side after doing the ridge and furrow (rig and fur, it's meant to represent a plowed field, as many fishermen were also crofters). I special ordered the nacre buttons from Italy, and am fairly pleased with how the rope cables merged with the collar pick up. Love the flags too.

You can see the flags and the back part of the rig and fur. I had thought that I would mirror-image the cables, but I read that Sailors are superstitious of mirror-imaging, so it's not traditional. I guess if I was in a boat on the North Sea, or maybe a smaller vessel loaded with men in dark water, I wouldn't want to tempt fate in any way.

So it blocked out nicely, no gathering at the patterning edge (cables can pull-in) and I am really pleased. So much so, I am planning another one. This time in Falmouth Navy.

I finished my Whoville socks that I began in December. Despite having a enough yarn and fiber to sink a boat (see what I did there?) I always go through the ritual (torture)of deciding what I will do next. My fleeces that I sent to the mill are ready too- so my buddy and I will make a trip to get them.